All News

October 03, 2010

Agreement Covers 4-D Trajectory To Increase Traffic
Predictability

The FAA has finalized a research agreement with Honeywell to
evaluate and demonstrate NextGen Air Traffic Management technology
that will allow aircraft to fly more direct routes to save on fuel
and emissions and arrive in a precise location at a precise
time.

NASA is inviting the public to join agency leaders and
innovators from a variety of fields on November 4 to discuss "What
Matters Next." Discussions and presentations on the theme will be
the centerpiece of the second TEDxNASA, a daylong event modeled on
the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conferences that
bring together leading thinkers to create a dialogue on important
global challenges.

Milestone Adds Momentum To Team's Plans To Begin Flight Testing
By Year's End

Northrop Grumman Corporation and Bell Helicopter, have moved a
significant step closer to being able to offer military users a
vertical unmanned system that can ferry cargo - either internally
or externally - over extended distances. On September 17, the team
applied external power for the first time to the main computers and
associated subsystems for its new Fire-X medium-range vertical
unmanned aerial system (VUAS), currently in final integration and
test at Bell Helicopter's Xworx rapid prototyping facility in Fort
Worth, Texas.

High School On-Line Program Focuses On STEM Subjects

The Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars (VASTS)
program, now in its fourth year at NASA Langley Research Center in
Hampton, VA, is currently accepting applications for its
interactive on-line science, technology, engineering and math
program.

When Able
When used in
conjunction with ATC instructions, gives the pilot the latitude to
delay compliance until a condition or event has been reconciled.
Unlike "pilot discretion," when instructions are prefaced "when
able," the pilot is expected to seek the first opportunity to
comply. Once a maneuver has been initiated, the pilot is expected
to continue until the specifications of the instructions have been
met. "When able," should not be used when expeditious compliance is
required.

Aero-Linx: America's Challenge
Gas Balloon Race
The America's Challenge Gas Balloon Race was founded by the
Balloon Fiesta in 1995 due to the vision and efforts of Mark
Sullivan, former Balloon Fiesta President and recipient of the
Montgolfier Diplome (one of ballooning's highest honors), who saw
the need for America to be identified with the world's most
prestigious ballooning sport. The America’s Challenge Gas
Balloon Race is modeled after the Coupe Aeronautique Gordon
Bennett, but it differs from the older event in allowing balloons
from all countries, without limits on the number of entries from
each. The team that travels the longest distance wins.

"The challenge is to duplicate, using hardware and
software, the behavior of the air vehicle when it is flown by a
human. For example, we're installing and testing actuators that
will move the air vehicle's flight control surfaces in response to
commands from a ground control station the same way they would move
in response to commands from a pilot in the cockpit."
Source: George Spongberg, Northrop
Grumman's Fire-X program manager, speaking about Northrop Grumman
Corporation and Bell Helicopter's having moved a significant
step closer to being able to offer military users a vertical
unmanned system that can ferry cargo - either internally or
externally - over extended distances.